Del Negro, Paxson spat comes to forefront

Bulls coach and vice president had vocal, physical confrontation over Joakim Noah’s playing time

April 13, 2010|By K.C. Johnson, Tribune reporter

The Bulls have hired independent lawyers to investigate a physical altercation between executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and coach Vinny Del Negro, sources confirmed.

The incident took place after the March 30 home loss to the Suns and centered on Del Negro exceeding, for the second time, a medically imposed minutes limit on Joakim Noah, who has battled plantar fasciitis.

Yahoo! Sports first reported the story. A Bulls spokesman said it's an organizational issue that will be handled internally.

"Whatever happens is between the organization and myself," Del Negro said. "I focus on what I can control. I can control the preparation of the game and the staff and the players. I go about my job every day no matter what happens. I'm a competitor."

According to sources, Paxson came to the doorway of Del Negro's office after Del Negro played Noah 27 minutes, 5 seconds — 2:05 more than allowed. Del Negro also exceeded Noah's minutes limit during a Feb. 26 home overtime victory over the Trail Blazers, and Noah missed the next 10 games.

According to sources, an angry Paxson began to confront Del Negro vocally, which prompted Del Negro to rise from his chair and walk toward Paxson. At this point, sources said, Paxson grabbed Del Negro by his tie and shoved him.

Several players said they heard the vocal altercation and later learned details of the physical aspect.

"Things happen in an organization," Joakim Noah said. "We deserve not to have these problems talked about right now. We're fighting as players and that's all that matters."

Sources said Paxson called Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf in the direct aftermath of the incident to tell his boss what occurred.

Sources also said Del Negro spent the next few days after the incident trying to gather written statements from organizational members.

The incident speaks to the deteriorated relationship between management and Del Negro, whose future job status has been an ongoing storyline all season. During widespread speculation claiming Del Negro would be fired any day during the Bulls' December struggles, the Tribune reported Del Negro would finish the season but not be brought back for the third and final guaranteed season of his contract.

"You move forward and show leadership to your team," Del Negro said. "I don't waste my time on that stuff. I don't have time to waste on that. The focus is on the players."

Del Negro's relationship with management has been tepid since he and his staff felt management didn't support him enough during the Bulls' December struggles. In management's only public comments about Del Negro's future, general manager Gar Forman wouldn't commit to him beyond this season.

Noah's playing time has been an ongoing issue as well. Just last Friday, the Bulls endured criticism for a miscommunication during a double overtime loss to the Nets at New Jersey.

In that game, Del Negro had exceeded Noah's minutes limit of 35 slightly because no stoppage in play came until late in regulation. Del Negro then received clearance from management to exceed the limit because of the game's importance.

But Del Negro said he worked under the impression he could use Noah only for late-game possessions and thus played him only for 12 seconds late in the first overtime. The Nets pulled away early in the second overtime.

"You have to think big picture here," Del Negro said. "He's a young player. He had a serious injury. We want to protect him from himself a little bit because he has such great energy and wants to be out here. His future is the most important thing."